To Get To The Other Side
by Kohaku no Hime
Summary: An interesting take on a very old and very cheesy joke. Post-series, Polarshipping fluff.


_Uh…to be honest, I have no idea where on earth this came from._

_Due to several Mountain Dews, my little brother, and a cheesy joke, I came up with this. It's different than my other one-shots, but nonetheless it turned out for the better and I hope I did everything right, especially since this is my first foray into this pairing. I hope you all enjoy it!_

_Post-series, Polarshipping fluff, and reviews would be kindly appreciated!_

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Why did the chicken cross the road?

Only God knows how many times that question has been asked and how many people have said that sentence; I'm pretty sure that even the most dedicated of mathmaticians don't know that answer. The replies to this question always vary, but only one has been deemed as the correct one: "To get to the other side."

Wait a minute, now. Let's think about this for just a second. The chicken certainly wants to get to the other side of the road, but for what purpose? Sure, you could say that it simply crossed the road to create a joke whose welcome would wear out quickly over the years, but where's the fun in that? What if there was a reason that the chicken crossed the road?

I have an idea. Let's use a random teenage boy as our chicken, okay? Now let's stick him on one side of an intersection, and let's say that the intersection is a four lane road. And, just for kicks, we're setting this scenario in Domino City's morning rush hour, which means everyone is driving like frantic madmen to get to their jobs. This chicken is with his friends too, because they're all on their way to school.

First, a little background about our hypothetical chicken. He's roughly seventeen years old, blond, and he has brown eyes. He's a bit of a dense moron sometimes and he isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, not to mention that he used to break heads in for a living. But he's a good guy to be friends with, since he is a fiercely loyal companion (almost like a dog, but good luck saying that to his face) and won't rat you out for cash or something petty like that. He's also got this crazy lucky streak—somehow, someway, situations that look grim for him end up turning out for the better. Overall, he's a good guy.

You with me so far? Seems like you are, so let me continue.

Now, remember what I said about the chicken having an unnamed reason for crossing the road? Let me set up the next part of this scenario for you.

Let's name this reason a woman. A really, really, _really _beautiful woman, also blonde (though lighter colored than our chicken's) and possessing gorgeous violet eyes. She's seen more of the world than the chicken and all of his friends combined, and though she acts like a shameless flirt she's always analyzing the situation and manipulating the circumstances to her advantage. Let's stick her on the other side of the intersection, because if we didn't we wouldn't be following the context of the joke.

Still with me? Yes? Good. Moving on.

Now, let's assume this woman has not shown her face around Domino for quite some time because she did a few things wrong—and before you ask, let's just say she in essence tried to kill our chicken—and she's afraid to see anyone she recognizes out of guilt over what she tried to do. Let's also say that she has caused nothing but trouble for said chicken and likes using saucy taunts and teasing the chicken constantly (well, before she went all psycho and tried to steal his soul. But I digress, because that detail has already been established).

So far I'm not hearing any questions or complaints, so let's move onto the next part to our hypothetical scenario.

Our chicken is absolutely _crazy_ over the woman we've just talked about, and he goes completely out of his way to protect her and still values her despite everything she's done; it's completely blind devotion, and there are days when the chicken pays for it, but he still cherishes her anyway. He used to get embarrassed when someone claimed that he had feelings for her, but he hasn't denied it now in sometime so that definitely means something significant. He hasn't heard a peep from her since he's last seen her, he hasn't seen her on the news or the Internet at all in that time, and he's justifiably worried about her.

Now all of a sudden, he looks across the road and _bam_. There she is, standing on the other side of the road and looking as confident and beautiful as she always has. She's a teeny bit nervous, and you can see it in her eyes, but I'll attribute that to the fact she's afraid to see any old faces. She hasn't seen him yet, but he's seen her and he realizes that if she spots him she'll bolt before he gets to set one foot on the road. He's only got one chance and the clock's ticking, because any minute now she's going to see him.

What do you think our chicken is going to do, given that situation?

Do you think he's going to immediately risk life and limb by suddenly taking off and running across a four lane intersection in morning traffic, with everyone grouchy, half-asleep, and driving like complete psychopaths, just so he can stop the woman he loves from running away again after she mustered up the courage to return to the city where he lives?

If you did, you're absolutely right.

Without another thought this stupid chicken practically leaps into traffic, dodging cars and narrowly avoiding being run over, trying as fast as he can get to get to this woman. Lady Luck is definitely working overtime now, because the drivers all seem to see him at the last second and put on their breaks; not one car gets into a wreck, but there are some really close calls.

Meanwhile, the woman's just seen him and her mouth drops open in surprise; clearly, she wasn't expecting something like this to happen this morning, especially given her circumstances. She doesn't run, mostly because she's too startled to move but also she's debating whether to stay put or run for it.

He finally crosses the street, panting heavily and effectively ending whatever debate the woman was thinking through. He pointedly ignores all the horns blaring around him in protest, because he's stopped in front of her and you can almost see the way his eyes light up the moment he looks at her. A genuine smile spreads across his face and he straightens up, gasping out her name in between steadying breaths.

She is definitely caught off guard by the whole thing, and she looks uncertainly back at him; remember, this woman caused a lot of grief for this brave (but stupid) chicken, and she isn't sure what to expect now that she's suddenly been thrown into the spotlight.

The two of them stand there for some time, before the teenager gently says something that no one can hear over the roar of the traffic; it seems to only be a few words, but no one can tell since no one is near enough to hear them. Whatever it was, though, it has an effect—the woman stares at him with surprise before she looks away, and you can almost see the relieved tears gathering in her eyes that she's trying her hardest to hide.

His smile gets bigger, and before anyone can blink he's got her by the hand, gently but firmly dragging her to the nearest park on that side of the intersection; he hasn't seen her for a long time, and he's going to make absolutely certain that she doesn't run.

His friends have gotten over the shock of what just happened, now that they've seen the reason for their friend's temporary bout of madness. They know they're going to have to make an excuse to the teacher about why he isn't in school today, but then again what are friends for? They'll cover for him, and they'll look forward to the day when he convinces her to come see them again, but for now they're going to let the two of them go and get things sorted out.

One more detail to this scenario: the chicken's name is Jounouchi.

Remember that silly question I asked at the beginning of this whole conversation? The one that you recognized almost immediately and usually reply to with, "To get to the other side?"

Given the details of this scenario, I'm going to offer you a similar question: why did Jounouchi cross the road?

Simple. Because Mai was on the other side.


End file.
